The most noticeable and revolutionary work on this film was, of course, on the design side. O'Bannon had previously worked on Alejandro Jodorowsky's ill-fated adaptation of Dune (a project that also fell through Ridley Scott's grasp). For that he had assembled an incredible assortment of artists, who he regrouped for Alien, with talents such as Moebius from the Métal Hurlant magazine, Ron Cobb from Star Wars and Swiss artist HR Giger. Years before, Giger had a vivid nightmare where a lavatory and surrounding plumbing came to queasy, pulsating life – and so his "biomechanical" style was born. His creations were bizarre, organic machines and his designs for Alien, such as the huge derelict spaceship the astronauts investigate, seem as much grown as constructed.

Alien uses a similar story framework to the 50s cheapo monster flick It! The Terror from Beyond Space, but adds so much to it that it becomes a far deeper film. There are plenty of subtexts at play here, such as having the lead role played by a woman (the script just used surnames in a non-gender specific manner), or the male Kane giving "birth" to the creature in the still-powerful "chestburster" scene. However you approach it, this is a wonderfully immersive and terrifying film. It was such a shock to the system when it was released (and a huge hit to boot) that you can still see its influence in countless sci-fi and horror films decades down the line.